Cheap money means big borrowing by America’s largest corporations. A $450 million bond issue by McDonald’s (MCD) Wednesday will pay a record low 3.5% yield on 10-year debt, and other companies are also getting in on the low interest charged by the current capital markets.
According to The Wall Street Journal, corporate borrowing is surging even as investors see lower yields. Corporate debt issues are already at $1.4 trillion worldwide. That’s less than the $2.1 trillion worth of issues for the same period a year ago, but the European debt crisis had put the brakes on borrowing for most of May and June.
Although many U.S. companies are cash rich, low interest rates are spurring many to refinance existing debt, pushing down yields for bond investors.
Below is a list of the 12 largest bond issues so far this year.